Thanksgiving Day in New York City is much hype and little hurrah. The mood back home in Mumbai played dampener, most of my favourite New Yorkers were holidaying elsewhere and Manhattan was filled with tourists from Hicksville. Macy’s balloon parade was as exciting as a Disney movie, save the family camp-outs. And the sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that avariciously rivals Boxing Day, were non-existent.

So what’s a weekender in NYC to do? Watch a Broadway musical (Dear God, can you make Mary Poppins lift Mumbai’s spirit please?) and catch up on one’s favourite spots at the Village—Robert de Niro’s Balthazar, MagnoliaBakery, Evolution and Kate’s Paperie.

And Marc Jacobs, of course, who has three stores in this hip hood.

Not only is the US economy dripping dry, it’s creative quotient seems to be sapless too. American fashion has never been known to push the envelope; it has been about its casual, ready-to-wear clothes that are low on innovation but score high on ‘wearability’. Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan are the front-runners. Zac Posen, Phillip Lim and Thakoon are the newbies. Marc Jacobs sits in between, but on a privileged seat that makes him not only the biggest name in American fashion but one that a French fashion label has made multiple millions through.

Jacobs has been putting the cool in Louis Vuitton since 1997, when he was made creative director. It’s a tall order for him since Vuitton, run by bottom-line-watching men in suits, is known for its corporate skills more than cutting-edge chic. But if anyone, it’s Jacobs who can push clothing to the edge of reason. He says in an early interview. “I love that reaction of love and hate. It’s indifference that bothers me.”

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